DRUG BATTLE TOUGH FIGHT

Students Hear First-Hand

Students at a southeast high school learned a first-hand lesson on the
dangers of the rave drug yesterday.

More than 600 Grade 10-12 students at Father Lacombe senior high school
listened intently during an hour-long talk by Calgarians Julian Madigan and
Ann Paniec on their experiences with ecstasy and other drugs.

"I guarantee I've been higher than any of you here, but I've also been
lower than you ever have," said Madigan, 25, who recently came to Canada
from Ireland.

"I can't make any of you stop doing drugs, I can only ask you to question why."

Madigan described in detail how he took his first drink at age 13 before
moving to hashish, acid and eventually "E," which he tried for the first
time at a rave, when he was 16.

Within four years, Madigan said he developed a $1,000-a-week drug habit,
damaged his relationships and destroyed a promising swimming career.

But Madigan turned his life around, eventually writing The Agony of Ecstasy
- -- a book about his battle with drugs that became a best-seller.

Paniec, 17, also talked about getting hooked on ecstasy and other drugs in
her early teens, mainly as a way to seek acceptance from her friends.

"I wasn't OK being just me," she said.